There is a different feel to this year’s Notre Dame baseball team, and we are certainly seeing it out on the diamond. The Irish won its first ACC series last weekend against the Duke Blue Devils, and on Friday night, Notre Dame was in Louisville to take on the Cardinals in another ACC series.
The Irish chose violence and used a 10 run inning that included two grand slams to help get them to a 14-11 victory.
Notre Dame Baseball: Ten-Run Inning Propels Irish Past Cardinals
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Down 6-0 in the third inning, the Notre Dame baseball team outscored Louisville 14-5 to take a 14-11 win at Jim Patterson Stadium to open the weekend.
Louisville plated a run in the bottom of the first inning for a quick lead, but Jack Radel needed just eight pitches to retire the side in order in the bottom of the second. The Cardinals, however, pushed five runs across in the bottom of the third to gain a 6-0 advantage.
The Irish offense erupted in the top of the fourth. Davis Johnson, Mason Barth and Jamie Zee led off the fourth with consecutive singles, and Drew Berkland got the Irish on the scoreboard with a nine-pitch walk to drive in Johnson. Noah Coy then lofted a grand slam just beyond the right field fence to get the Irish right back in the mix to make it 6-5. The rally continued as Mark Quatrani and Bino Watters each drew a walk, and Parker Brzustewicz was hit by a pitch to load the bases again. Jayce Lee was hit by a pitch, and Quatrani came in to score to knot the game up at 6-6. Davis Johnson then crushed the second pitch of his at-bat over the right field fence for the second grand slam of the inning as the Irish scored 10 runs without an out being recorded in the fourth.
Louisville had a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 10-8 game as the fourth inning took nearly an hour to complete at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Will Jaisle struck out a pair, and Parker Brzustewicz made a strong pick on a throw in the bottom of the fifth as the Irish forced the Cardinals into stranding a pair of runners on base.
Jayce Lee and Davis Johnson drew walks to start the sixth inning, and Jamie Zee drew a one-out walk to load the bases. Drew Berkland punched a grounder the other way to use the ground out to drive in Lee for an 11-8 lead. Lee then drew a two-out walk in the top of the seventh, and Davis Johnson ripped a double to right field as Lee came around to score for a 12-8 Irish advantage.
Eli Thurmond capped off a one-two-three bottom of the seventh with a strikeout to roll the game over to the eighth inning. The offense continued to provide as Notre Dame put another run on the scoreboard in the top of the eighth. Drew Berkland and Mark Quatrani each laced singles, and Bino Watters delivered a two-out opposite-side single to drive in Berkland for a 13-8 Irish lead.
Jayce Lee sped around first for a one-out double in the top of the ninth for the Irish. Two batters later, Lee took full advantage of a wild pitch that took a Notre Dame bounce as the sophomore sprinted around from second to score to make it a 14-8 score.
The Cardinals put three runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the ninth, but the Irish closed out the win by forcing Louisville into stranding a runner with a first-pitch ground out.
In what was John P. and Catherine Murphy Head Baseball Coach Shawn Stiffler’s 100th win at the helm of the team, the Irish victory marked the first loss for Louisville in an ACC opener since joining the league in 2015.
Every batter in the Irish lineup drew at least one walk in the win. Davis Johnson went 3-for-5 with a grand slam, a double, five RBI and two runs scored. Noah Coy added a grand slam on a 2-for-5 effort for his first home run of the season. Drew Berkland had a pair of hits, including a double, while scoring a pair and driving in two. Bino Watters tallied two hits, scored a run and drove one in for the Irish. Mason Barth and Mark Quatrani each added a hit and scored a run.
Jack Radel went three complete with three strikeouts. Kellan Klosterman added a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning, and Will Jaisle picked up the win in relief after going 1.1 with two strikeouts and not allowing a hit. Eli Thurmond put up two scoreless innings with two strikeouts, and Noah Rooney closed out the final 2.0 on the bump with a pair of Ks.
The Irish (11-4, 3-1 ACC) are set to face the Cardinals in game two of the series on Saturday starting at 6:00 p.m. ET.
